Militia used American armored vehicles in attack on Russian border

Far-right militias that stormed a Russian territory bordering Ukraine this week used US-made tactical vehicles in the attack, raising questions about Kiev’s support for Russian extremist groups based in Ukraine.

Ukraine has denied direct involvement in Monday’s attack, but a military official has admitted to “collaborating” with nationalist groups that entered Russian territory on Monday to “liberate” a village. entered into

Denis Nikitin, the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, told the Financial Times that his fighters attacking the Belgorod region had US-made military vehicles. These included at least two M1224 MaxxPro armored vehicles and several Humvees, he said, declining to disclose how they were obtained.

Some but not all of the images of American-made vehicles in the raid were taken on the Russian side of the border, according to an FT analysis of the videos and photographs. Footage from the Russian Defense Ministry showed US-made tactical vehicles damaged by gunfire and apparently abandoned.

Ukraine has received similar military vehicles from the US as part of $37bn worth of aid provided to the country in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion.

US officials have repeatedly stressed that they are not encouraging or enabling Ukrainian forces or their allies to carry out strikes inside Russia using US equipment. A US official said: “We doubt the veracity of such reports and remain in close contact with our Ukrainian counterparts.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said it was up to Ukraine to decide how to conduct its military operations, but the US opposes attacks on Russian territory. “We have made it very clear to Ukrainians that we do not enable or encourage attacks outside the borders of Ukrainians,” he said.

Initially, Ukrainian officials publicly kept their distance from Russian sabotage units.

But on Tuesday, Andrey Chernyak, an official with Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, HUR, admitted for the first time some form of cooperation with the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Free Russia Legion.

“Of course, we communicate with them. Of course, we share some information,” Chernyak said. “And, one might say, we even cooperate.”

However, he added that Ukraine’s military was not directly involved in the attack, suggesting that it was the Russians’ own initiative.

He said, ‘They are rebelling. Chernyak also denied supplying any equipment to the militia. All Western weapons received by the Ukrainian Armed Forces “. . . the toughest controls”, he said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office declined to comment on the Belgorod invasion and the use of American equipment.

Self-proclaimed neo-Nazis comprise the Russian Volunteer Corps, founded by Nikitin the previous summer to fight against the invading forces of his home country. Born in Moscow, Nikitin also uses the surname Kapustin and goes by the call sign White Rex. It is also the name of his white nationalist clothing brand, popular among Western ultra-right wing extremists.

“Nikitin is a real self-promoter, an intelligent, educated person who is primarily interested in his own power, image and reputation,” said Michael Colborne, a journalist with the open-source investigative group Bellingcat, which bases its research on leads. global remote.

Colborne identified another member of the Russian Volunteer Corps as Russian right-wing extremist Aleksandr Skachkov in photos posted by the group during its Belgorod operation. According to Bellingcat, Skachkov was arrested in Ukraine in 2020 during a raid on people selling translations of the manifesto of the gunman behind the 2019 mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The Free Russia Legion says it was formed after a full-scale invasion in the spring of 2022, “based on the desire of Russians to fight against (Vladimir) Putin’s armed gangs”. The army claims to be officially recognized by the Ukrainian military “and under the leadership of the Ukrainian command”.

Both Russian units shared videos on their Telegram channels, where they have a combined 300,000 subscribers, showing their fighters in Belgorod province on Monday. A video shows several American-made armored tactical vehicles marked with the insignia used by the Ukrainian military. Another showed three American vehicles firing at Russian border guards.

A photo shared on Russian Telegram channels on Tuesday shows a damaged American MaxxPro vehicle abandoned by fighters near the town of Gravoron. A Russian military blogger said it was taken as a “trophy”. The vehicle shown is covered with pro-Russia graffiti and the Z logo.

Nikitin declined to answer further questions about the target of the operation. He previously said that his unit’s infiltration into Russia, which began in early March, was intended to expose the country’s weak defenses and inspire more compatriots to rise up against the Kremlin.

Russian officials in the Belgorod region claimed that the sabotage group was “defeated” on Tuesday afternoon by “air strikes, artillery fire and proactive measures”.

“The remnants of the nationalists were pushed back into Ukrainian territory and fired upon until they were completely annihilated,” Belgorod officials said in a statement. ,

Russian officials said they had opened a terrorism case. Many of those involved are on Russia’s most wanted list.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed 70 fighters from the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Free Russia Legion were killed and several vehicles destroyed. But Nikitin laughed at the Russian claim. “I am still alive,” he said, adding that the operation was “on”.

Far-right militias that stormed a Russian territory bordering Ukraine this week used US-made tactical vehicles in the attack, raising questions about Kiev’s support for Russian extremist groups based in Ukraine.

Ukraine has denied direct involvement in Monday’s attack, but a military official has admitted to “collaborating” with nationalist groups that entered Russian territory on Monday to “liberate” a village. entered into

Denis Nikitin, the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, told the Financial Times that his fighters attacking the Belgorod region had US-made military vehicles. These included at least two M1224 MaxxPro armored vehicles and several Humvees, he said, declining to disclose how they were obtained.

Some but not all of the images of American-made vehicles in the raid were taken on the Russian side of the border, according to an FT analysis of the videos and photographs. Footage from the Russian Defense Ministry showed US-made tactical vehicles damaged by gunfire and apparently abandoned.

Ukraine has received similar military vehicles from the US as part of $37bn worth of aid provided to the country in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion.

US officials have repeatedly stressed that they are not encouraging or enabling Ukrainian forces or their allies to carry out strikes inside Russia using US equipment. A US official said: “We doubt the veracity of such reports and remain in close contact with our Ukrainian counterparts.”

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said it was up to Ukraine to decide how to conduct its military operations, but the US opposes attacks on Russian territory. “We have made it very clear to Ukrainians that we do not enable or encourage attacks outside the borders of Ukrainians,” he said.

Initially, Ukrainian officials publicly kept their distance from Russian sabotage units.

But on Tuesday, Andrey Chernyak, an official with Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, HUR, admitted for the first time some form of cooperation with the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Free Russia Legion.

“Of course, we communicate with them. Of course, we share some information,” Chernyak said. “And, one might say, we even cooperate.”

However, he added that Ukraine’s military was not directly involved in the attack, suggesting that it was the Russians’ own initiative.

He said, ‘They are rebelling. Chernyak also denied supplying any equipment to the militia. All Western weapons received by the Ukrainian Armed Forces “. . . the toughest controls”, he said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office declined to comment on the Belgorod invasion and the use of American equipment.

Self-proclaimed neo-Nazis comprise the Russian Volunteer Corps, founded by Nikitin the previous summer to fight against the invading forces of his home country. Born in Moscow, Nikitin also uses the surname Kapustin and goes by the call sign White Rex. It is also the name of his white nationalist clothing brand, popular among Western ultra-right wing extremists.

“Nikitin is a real self-promoter, an intelligent, educated person who is primarily interested in his own power, image and reputation,” said Michael Colborne, a journalist with the open-source investigative group Bellingcat, which bases its research on leads. global remote.

Colborne identified another member of the Russian Volunteer Corps as Russian right-wing extremist Aleksandr Skachkov in photos posted by the group during its Belgorod operation. According to Bellingcat, Skachkov was arrested in Ukraine in 2020 during a raid on people selling translations of the manifesto of the gunman behind the 2019 mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The Free Russia Legion says it was formed after a full-scale invasion in the spring of 2022, “based on the desire of Russians to fight against (Vladimir) Putin’s armed gangs”. The army claims to be officially recognized by the Ukrainian military “and under the leadership of the Ukrainian command”.

Both Russian units shared videos on their Telegram channels, where they have a combined 300,000 subscribers, showing their fighters in Belgorod province on Monday. A video shows several American-made armored tactical vehicles marked with the insignia used by the Ukrainian military. Another showed three American vehicles firing at Russian border guards.

A photo shared on Russian Telegram channels on Tuesday shows a damaged American MaxxPro vehicle abandoned by fighters near the town of Gravoron. A Russian military blogger said it was taken as a “trophy”. The vehicle shown is covered with pro-Russia graffiti and the Z logo.

Nikitin declined to answer further questions about the target of the operation. He previously said that his unit’s infiltration into Russia, which began in early March, was intended to expose the country’s weak defenses and inspire more compatriots to rise up against the Kremlin.

Russian officials in the Belgorod region claimed that the sabotage group was “defeated” on Tuesday afternoon by “air strikes, artillery fire and proactive measures”.

“The remnants of the nationalists were pushed back into Ukrainian territory and fired upon until they were completely annihilated,” Belgorod officials said in a statement. ,

Russian officials said they had opened a terrorism case. Many of those involved are on Russia’s most wanted list.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed 70 fighters from the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Free Russia Legion were killed and several vehicles destroyed. But Nikitin laughed at the Russian claim. “I am still alive,” he said, adding that the operation was “on”.